The present invention relates to an electrical connector for use between two devices having conductive elements such as printed circuit boards forming part of an electric or electronic circuit.
Examples of prior art connectors for creating an electrical connection between two circuit boards which are for example mounted parallel to each other with the connector located intermediate of the two circuit boards are typified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,511,197, 4,341,433, 5,437,556 and 4,505,529. Connectors of this kind are defined by a housing which holds a plurality of conductive elements in a relationship to the housing such that on each side of the housing, each conductive element exposes a nose which can engage with a conductive trace of the printed circuit boards. The conductive elements can engage with such a trace of each circuit board on each side of the housing to thereby create an electrical connection between the two circuit boards. It is important to ensure that an electrical connection is maintained by the conductive elements and accordingly the printed circuit boards are often clamped in position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,529 describes the use of a conductive element which has a compression spring arrangement which creates a bias of the conductive element towards the two panels when some degree of deflection of the spring component of the conductive element occurs. The nature of the spring component of the conductive element is such that the highest rate of change of the biasing force generated, occurs at the initial stages of deflection of the spring component.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,197 provides a contact assembly which recognises the desirability of minimising impedance and resistive effects and thereby provides a connector which in use provides a shorter path length for the circuit created by the connector.
The conductive element of U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,197 includes a first contact nose and a second contact nose wherein the second contact nose is mounted at the end of a beam portion of the conductive element. The beam cantilevers from a point at the end of the beam away from the contact nose. In moving towards the fully engaged condition a leg extending from the contact nose, becomes engaged with a leg of the conductive element at the first contact nose and thereby creates a movement of the first contact nose to move it in a wiping motion. This motion removes any absorbed films and oxides which may have been deposited on a conductive trace of the circuit board.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,433 describes a connector with a conductive element which includes a first region which remains fixed relative to the housing and from which a first nose extends to engage with a conductive trace on a first circuit board and from which another leg extends to act as a spring mounting a nose to engage with a conductive trace on another circuit board. Likewise in U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,556, a first nose of a conductive element is mounted on a spring region of the conductive element and provides a biasing force towards a first circuit board onto which the nose of the conductive element is to engage.
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide electrical connector for use between two devices having variable rate of change of force during engagement of a device with conductive elements or to at least provide the public with a useful choice.
It is also an object of this invention to provide an electrical connector with at least one conductive element which can provide a higher compressive force.
It is a further object of the present invention to present a conductive element with a shorter electrical path upon compression.